1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to methods and apparatus for attaching electrical connectors to a substrate.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Developments
In the assembly of electronic devices it is frequently necessary to mount connectors having a plurality of signal pins or pin like elements on a printed wiring board or on other substrates. There will ordinarily be a plurality of pin receiving apertures on the surface of the printed wiring board and conventionally each of the pins on the connector will be aligned with one of the pin receiving apertures and the connector will then be engaged with the wiring board. The connector will also often be equipped with a pair of mounting brackets at its opposed ends. Each of these brackets will have a hold down aperture which is aligned with a hold down aperture on the printed wiring board. An eyelet, rivet or any other number of well known commercial fasteners may be inserted through these hold down apertures to fix the connector to the wiring board but only after the signal pins have first been aligned with them inserted into their respective pin receiving apertures.
The method as described above for fixing a connector to a printed wiring board has several disadvantages. First, the alignment of the signal pins with the pin receiving apertures is a rather exacting procedure which must be accomplished within close tolerances. Further, the conventional method as described above involves two distinct procedures in that the eyelet is not attached to the connector and the wiring board until the signal pins have first been aligned with them and inserted into the pin receiving apertures. The carrying out of these two distinct procedures may result in a significant addition to the time and expense required for the overall assembly operation. A need, therefore, exists for a method and apparatus for mounting a connector on a printed wiring board or other substrate which can be performed quickly and efficiently in essentially a single integral procedure.